"It was all for this moment. All the times I got up at 5 a.m. to practice or worked on my short game until dark paid off. To me all the practice is fun."

View full sizeWarren Gittlen awarding Millersville junior Rob Rowe the trophy for his victory. The Jake Gittlen Memorial golf tournament, which involves some of the area's best golfers, took place at the Hershey Country Club East Course, finishing with a victory by Millersville junior Rob Rowe on Sunday August 7, 2014. Daniel Zampogna, Pennlive

Starting the day six shots behind the leader, Rowe literally made something out of almost nothing Sunday to turn in a scorecard of 1-under 70 Sunday at Hershey Country Club's East Course.

On the surface his scorecard looks pretty clean — three birdies offset by only a pair of bogeys.

But it was anything but clean and simple for Rowe, a Lancaster Catholic HS graduate and All-Conference and All-Regional player at Millersville University.

From the sixth hole on, Rowe only used his driver once. And he left his 3-wood in the bag after a poor tee shot on No. 7. He hit only six greens in regulation.

But chipping and putting well cures all swing issues during a round.

And Rowe was nothing short of brilliant around and on the greens Sunday.

Of those 12 greens he missed, he got it up-and-down 10 times. And he had only 24 total putts.

"With what I had ... my ball striking was horrible," said Rowe, whose stepfather, Ron Weaver, won the Gittlen a dozen years ago.

"To scramble like that and hold a round together and win was special. To not have my A-game and still win feels tremendous."

As the three players in the final group, who all entered the day under par, struggled, Rowe's resolve intensified.

His ball striking improved as the round went along and he used birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 to fire a 2-under par 33 on the back side to post a number the leaders knew wasn't going to move.

"I chipped really well. I was in some bad spots ... short-sided myself a few times. But I made everything inside 8-feet," Rowe said. "This win is a testament to nothing but hard work. It's been a rough 18 months for me. But this makes all the time worth it because I made it pay off."